Silt-gate.



WI HARRIS.

sm om.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 7| I9I8 1,297,843. Patent9dMar.18,1919.

v kno/Mfrs WlT/VEXSES A v/ WILLIAM HARRIS, or sILvnn CITY, NEW MEXICO. l

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i' Specification of Letters Patent.

ratenteaiuar. is, 1919.

Application filed February 7, 1918. Serial No. 215,852.

To all whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM HARnIs, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Silver City, in the county of Grant and system of gatesfor a reservoir which may 'f be actuated at any time for causing thewater in the reservoir to force the silt therefrom.

A still further object of the invention, more specifically, is theprovision of a stand pipe and a drain off pipe together with awedge-shaped gate, which when raised will leave an opening for starting4the flow of water and thereby causing the silt to be washed through thedrain pipe.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a'longitudinal vertical section through part of a dam,stand-pipe, and associate parts showing an embodiment of the inventionapplied thereto.

Fig. 2 is la view of the gate shown in Fig. l, same being on an enlargedscale.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to the lower part of the stand-pipe shown inFig. 1, the parts being enlarged, and thegate shown in an elevatedposition. Y

Referring to the accompanying drawing by numerals, 1 indicates the bedof a reservoir, and 2 the dam which is constructed in any desiredmanner. Arranged in the reservoir, at the oot of the dam, is one or morestand-pipes 3, which at the lower end opens into a drain-pipe orsluice-way 4 whereby the silt 5 and some of the water 6 may freely flowfrom the reservoir to the down-stream side of the dam. The dam is ofcourse provided with the usual spillway so as to limit the water to thehigh water level 7 or low water level 8. A plurality of flood-gates 9are provided in the stand-pipe 3, said gates having openings and gatemembers l0I' any desired construction, preferably a gate which may bemoved upwardly and downwardly from the platform 10. The platform 10 alsoaccommodates a suitable lifting mechanism l1 for gatesrodlQ, which rodis connected with thev gate 13 and the various Vgate members 111 areconnected with the stand-pipe 9 and gate rod 12 for guiding the sameupwardly or downwardly.

The gate 13, as shown in Fig. 3, is tapering on one side while theopposite side engages flatwise the shoulder 15 of the stand-pipe 3 inthe end of the drain-pipe 4 so as to normally close the opening 16. Whenthis opening is closed the silt 5 begins to accumulate and packs tightlyagainst the gate. If this silt was not removed it would eventuallysubstantially fill the reservoir and thereupon make the reservoiruseless. Various means have been heretofore designed to remove this siltin small batches or in large batches. In the present invention theprovision of the tapering gate is very important, as it provides anopening or passageway 17 between the silt and the gate, when the gate israised as shown in Fig. 8, whereupon some of the water 6 in thereservoir may flow through said passageway and carry with it some of thesilt. Even though this may be a comparatively small stream it willquickly enlarge the opening and in a short time all of the silt in thevicinity of the opening 16 will be washed therethrough and caused topass through pipe 4. Usually the pressure of water and the movementthereof will cause the silt anywhere from one hundred to two hundredfeet above the stand-pipe t0 be washed through opening 16. Any desirednumber of these stand-pipes could be provided, according to the variousrequirements. It is also evident that these pipes could be arrangedeither adjacent the dam or upstream as far as desirable.

In order to remove the silt all that is nee-y essary to do is tooperatemember 11 for raising gate 13 and then wait until the waterautomatically causes the removal of the silt, after which the gate maybe lowered and the reservoir is then in a cleansed condition ready Jforuse. It is, of course, evident that the gates may all be opened at onetime, or one gate at a time, and the gates may be opened at any time,but preferably for the conservation of the water the gates are openedonly when water is passing over the spillway. In this way the wastewater is utilized for cleaning the silt and consequently the level ofthe water in the reservoir need not be lowered. The gates may be openedat any time, but preferably are opened sufficiently often to prevent thesilt from reaching the gates 9.

l.What claim is:

l. A silt gate of the character described comprising means forming apassageway from the upstream side ot a dam to the downstream side otsaid dam, a gate at the upstream end oi said passageway adapted whenclosed to form an abutment against which silt may accumulate, said gatebeing provided with means on the upstream side to torni an opening inthe silt on raising the gate to allow the water above the silt to passand carry along the silt adjacent said opening.

A silt gate of the character described comprising means forming apassageway from the upstream side of a dam to the downstream side ofsaid dam, a gate at the upstream side of said passageway adapted whenclosed to form a support against which silt may accumulate, said gatebeing formed on its upstream side with a beveled face inclined from thebottom to the top, with the top farther upstream than the bottom, saidbevel forming an opening in the silt on raising the gate to allow thewater above the silt to pass and carry along therewith the silt adjacentsaid opening.

3. A silt gate of the character described comprising means forming apassageway from the upstream side of the dam to the downstream side ofthe dam, a wedge-shaped gate normally closing said passageway, said gatehai/'ing the small end at the bottom whereby when the gate is raisedvertically there will be left a space between the gate and the siltpreviously resting against the gate so that water may pass and start towash said silt through said passageway, and means tor raising andlowering said gate.

WILLAM HARRIS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for iive cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Eatents, Washington, IB. C.

